Manchester police seek candidates for March exam

By DALE VINCENTNew Hampshire Union LeaderJanuary 19. 2014 9:40PMMANCHESTER — Police Chief David Mara said he hopes to gain a sizable and diverse pool of police officer candidates from the entry level police exam scheduled for March 22.

While three of the most recent retirements were of upper level officers — two captains and a lieutenant — officers leave for a variety of reasons and Mara wants to be prepared when he finds himself with openings and the budget to fill them.

“We’re anticipating we’re going to have several more (openings) by the end of the fiscal year,” said Mara.

Names remain on the approved applicant list for a year, and there are some candidates left on a list that expires in May. But Mara has high hopes for increased diversity in the potential officers who will emerge from the entry-level police exam March 22 at the Police Standards and Training Academy in Concord.

He wants the Manchester Police Department to reflect the community and said he’s been talking about recruiting applicants at community meetings. The department is also advertising in a variety of locations and media in an effort to recruit members of the community who might have unnecessary doubts about their eligibility.

One indication of the need for broader community participation is a premium paid for officers who speak Arabic, Bosnian, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish.

The application deadline for the exam is March 18. Applicants who pass the written portion of the exam will immediately begin the physical agility test.

Mara said immediately means exactly that, so applicants need to be ready on the exam day to do pushups, situps, bench press and a mile and a half run. The number and speed required vary based on age and sex. There’s also a trigger pull test.

“Everybody that gets through the written and the physical goes on to the oral boards (interview process),” said Manchester Police Training Officer Carl Accorto. The interviews begin within weeks of the exam.

Candidates need to be 21 by the test date, must have a high school diploma or GED, must be U.S. citizens and must have a valid driver’s license at the time of appointment. Accorto said a felony conviction or dishonorable military discharge is an automatic disqualifier.